Brown Betty

If you’re looking for a frugal dessert that’s comforting and easy to make, then it’s time to make friends with Brown Betty! Warmly spiced and sweet, Brown Betty is a type of layered dessert casserole that uses bread crumbs and fruit. Not only is it practically foolproof to make, it’s incredibly flexible and is a perfect opportunity to turn stale bread into a tasty home baked dessert. Plus you can make it with any seasonal fruit you have on hand–apples, peaches, berries or rhubarb all work. And the great part about it is you don’t have to be accurate at all with measurements. It’s a dessert that you can measure everything with your heart!

Not to be mistaken for a cobbler or a crisp, Brown Betty typically boasts breadcrumbs as its “crust.” And unlike the other baked fruit delights that so often call for raw ingredients that you have to spin together to create a type of crust, Brown Betty is the one variety that uses an already made ingredient–bread crumbs–so there is practically no effort required to make it. (If you want to read about the differences between these other desserts, then check out this informative post on the Farmer’s Almanac website.)

What Kind of Bread do I Use in a Brown Betty?

You can use pretty much any kind of bread you can get your hands on, though stale white bread is the most common. Some recipes call for crumbs, others use cubes similar to what you would use to make stuffing. But it doesn’t just stop at bread–you can also use stale cake and even cookies, though this is a little less common. Restaurants have featured Brown Betty on their dessert menus for the purpose of using up whatever bread, cake or cookies they’ve had in surplus. So whatever you have on hand, go ahead and use it!

I really hope you’ll give this comforting Brown Betty recipe a try soon. If you do, please rate the recipe and leave us a comment about how it turned out for you!

Try These Other Amazing Fruit Desserts!

• Vintage Apple Pie
• Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
• Easy Peach Crumb Cake

Brown Betty

Use any fruit to create this frugal yet comforting dessert. No need for fancy techniques–breadcrumbs do all the heavy lifting.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 18 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 175 kcal

Equipment

• 2 Mixing bowls
• 1 Casserole dish
• 1 Saucepan or microwave safe bowl

Ingredients

  

• 3-4 cups breadcrumbs or bread cubes
• ⅓ cup butter, melted
• 4-6 cups apples, diced or sliced or any fruit
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375℉/190℃. Generously grease a casserole dish and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl combine breadcrumbs and melted butter. Stir to coat the breadcrumbs well.
• In another large mixing bowl combine the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice. Toss to coat the apples well.
• Spread about ⅓ of the buttered breadcrumbs into the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Top with half of the apples. Spread half of the remaining breadcrumbs over the apples. Repeat with remaining apples and breadcrumbs, respectively. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the apples are fully cooked and the breadcrumbs are golden. Serve warm.

Notes

You can use any fruit you like in a Brown Betty, preferably one that bakes well in a pie. Berries, peaches, pears and rhubarb would work beautifully.

Instead of bread crumbs, you can also use diced bread or even stale cake or cookies.

Keyword bread, breadcrumbs, brown betty, dessert, fruit